Denise Abdale
Author Bio
I’m a veteran educator of 40 years and a speech therapist. Most of my students were immigrant, learning disabled, physically disabled, and ESL. I’ve had students who were homeless and in jail before they reached 8th grade. Many of them either could not read or had great difficulty reading/ comprehending what they read. When I write my books, I keep my “kids” in mind; how if they only had early intervention when they were 3 or 4, or if they had received services earlier, then they would not have had certain things happen to them. Anything I can do to get books into the hands of kids to enable them to become proficient language learners and readers is my goal. For them to become independent readers and to be able to fully comprehend what they read and tell me in their own words what the story is about, answer questions is exhilarating for me. It’s why I became an educator and now a writer of children’s books.
Author Q & A
- What do you do when you’re not writing?
When I’m not writing I’m a passionate gardener, a skilled needleworker, an avid mystery reader and a fan of 1930’s-1940’s film noir mysteries.
- Is there anything that you are passionate about besides writing?
Yes, there is. I’m a big supporter of Donors Choose. I give generously to my local schools to support those teachers, especially the teachers who have classrooms of pre-k -grade 2 and special ed. I also support many animal charities, such as animal shelters like Bideawee, NorthShore Animal League, ASPCA etc.
- What inspired you to write this book?
I noticed that my son was having difficulties cleaning up his room, starting to forget assignments/ materials/ books from school, and basically couldn’t complete a large generic task like “clean your room” or “do your project”. He had no clue where to start, how to organize his thoughts. This really became evident when the school curriculum and workload became harder, about second grade.
- What makes your book different on the subject of executive functioning disorder?
I wrote the book with the child who will be reading it in mind. The little boy in the story is my son. All the adaptations that were made to help Jacob in the story, I actually did with my son. He still uses many of them to this day. You do not outgrow Executive Functioning issues.
- What can we learn from your book?
My book documents the journey of a child going from feeling hopeless, disorganized and having low self-esteem to becoming a child that is functioning both in the classroom and at home. He is calmer, happier and he feels better about himself. The climate both at home and at school is more pleasant as a result.
- Do you have more books planned?
Yes, I have many more books already written. They just need to be published.
- Can you give us a hint about them?
HAHA well, all I can say is there’s a series about two stray cats, a detective book, a whole assortment of independent stories, a trilogy middle grade novel and I’m toying with a graphic novel but along the lines of Captain Underpants – nothing too heavy.
- What is your writing process, what gets you writing, where do your ideas come from?
I don’t have a specific writing process, but I do some of my best writing between 4 AM and 7 AM. I’m usually sound asleep, then start having a dream with dialogue running through it. My eyes creak open, and I know that I have to get up immediately and start writing. For if I don’t, that scene or children’s book that I just dreamt, will be gone forever, never to be remembered again.
I get ideas for my stories from many different things – a picture in a catalog, a tv show, a street billboard, a childhood memory, people from my childhood, former students, my son misreading something and telling me about it.
- What is your latest book about?
Jacob Gets Organized is based on a real person and the real-life struggles/ experiences that he lived every day. I did all the methods in the story to help him. I lived it side by side with him. Executive functioning disorder is not something you outgrow. It is a lifelong condition, much like diabetes or cerebral palsy. You learn how to manage it and how to work with it. But it never goes away. These children are not lazy. In fact, many of them are extremely smart. The boy that Jacob is modeled after went on to become an honor student both in high school and college. He still uses the methods that I put into place with him when he was little. They keep him focused on task, and most importantly, keeps his life and environment organized.
Jacob Gets Organized
author: Denise Abdale
Imprint: Reading Nook Press
website: https://deniseabdaleauthor.com
ISBN Ebook: 979-8-9908143-2-5
ISBN Paperback: 979-8-9908143-1-8
ISBN Hardback: 979-8-9908143-0-1
Library of Congress #: 2024911834
pages: 32
ages: 4-8 years old
